Katheryn Deprill’s birth mother abandoned her infant daughter in a Burger King 27 years ago. The lonely birth mother was pregnant after being raped. Deprill did not know why her mother had given her up in such a fashion; but nevertheless, she still wanted to be able to see her birth mother.

Deprill was found as an infant by a Burger King employee, who promptly alerted the authorities. The Burger King employee found the crying baby wrapped in a red sweater lying on the bathroom floor of the restaurant, with the umbilical cord still attached. Police searched unsuccessfully for the mother, giving up after several months.

She was eventually adopted by parents who gave her “the best childhood anyone could ask for,” according to Deprill, now 27.

She found out about the circumstances of her birth story when she was in sixth grade from her parents. She wrote: “Inside I was eaten up, torn apart, broken down, and devastated! I thought to myself, wow, my own biological parents didn’t even want me!”

Katheryn Deprill is now a 27 year old EMT and married mom of three boys. Despite the feelings of rejection she initially experienced upon finding out about her birth story, she still wanted to find her birth mother.

She posted a photo of herself smiling and happy on March 5, not showing the pain and anger one might expect. In her photo, she held a sign that read: “Looking for my birth mother. … She abandoned me in the Burger King bathroom. … Please help me find her by sharing my post.”

The photo went on to be re-posted more than 30,000 times; and this led to multiple media interviews, including one on “Inside Edition.”

Eventually, the birth mother, Cathy Pochek, saw the post and contacted an attorney. He arranged for the two to meet. They met last Tuesday.

“I’m so happy,” Deprill said. “I got the hug that I had wanted for the last 27 years. … I asked if I could have it, and she said, ‘absolutely,’ and just held her arms open.”

The mother expressed regret for her actions, and Deprill was willing to forgive her “110 percent, absolutely.”

Katheryn Deprill appeared beside her biological mother, Cathy Pochek, and her adoptive mother, Brenda Hollis, together on the Today Show.

The story demonstrates the power of forgiveness to heal despite tragedy. The tragedies of rape and child abandonment did not end with the sadness they could have, but instead with a marvelous reunion between mother and daughter after twenty seven years of separation.